Surgical flexible cable support



N. ROBBINS SURGICAL FLEXIBLE CABLE April '14, 1959 SUPPORT Filed Aug. so, 1956 1 /7 INVEN TOR.

W054 Rosa/ms BYj United States Patent OT SURGICAL FLEXIBLE CABLE SUPPORT Noel Robbins, Chatham, NJ. Application August 30, 1956, Serial No. 607,160

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-70) The present invention is an improved surgical flexible cable support, particularly suitable for use with a surgical instrument power supply.

In surgery, such as in corrective surgical planing of skin called dermabrasion, the removal of skin blemishes is accomplished by the shearing action of a rotary wire brush, burr or stone. The power for the rotation of the planing cutter is generally supplied by a flexible power cable. Other instruments are used in surgery for intradermal injection of liquids and for therapeutic tattooing to obliterate birth marks and other skin disfigurements.

It is important in such surgical procedures that the surgeon is not burdened by the drag and weight of the flexible cable assembly usually extending about fifty inches from the electric motor. Inasmuch as the human skin is quite thin, cosmetic surgery is a precision operation requiring the utmost dexterity and skill. Obviously, the surgeon is handicapped in using his skill to the fullest extent by the considerable drag and weight of the flexible cable while manipulating the surgical instrument.

The present invention aims to provide an improved surgical cable support which may be readily adjusted by the surgeon during an operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for counterbalancing the weight and drag of the cable during cosmetic surgery.

In accordance with the invention, these objects are accomplished by providing supporting means for the cable intermediate the ends thereof which bears the weight of the flexible cable and yieldingly responds to a pull on the instrument end of the cable, the tension of the supporting means being readily adjustable.

The construction is advantageous in that it may be incorporated into existing flexible cable power supplies.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawing which show, by way of example, an embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of a surgical flexible cable support shown in position on an electric motor and supporting a flexible cable.

Figure 2 is a top view corresponding to Figure 1.

Figure 3 is in enlarged view of a part of Figure 1, the various positions of the cable supporting arm and slider being shown dotted. Additionally, this figure shows an adjusting screw which may be incorporated in the design to provide a finer tension adjustment.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 an electric motor 1 supported by the top of a stand or bracket 2. The motor 1 has attached thereto a connector bushing 3 for a conventional flexible power cable or flexible power shaft 4, at the end of which is a fitting 5 adapted to be connected to a cutting tool or the like.

The surgical cable supporting means includes a flanged extension 6 contoured to fit in place on the electric motor 1, and the flanged extension may be apertured to receive screws 7 securing the motor in position. A generally 2,881,998 Patented Apr. 14,1959

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horizontally extending portion 8 of the bracket 2 is directed over the end of the motor on which the flexible cable is attached. At the other end of the horizontally extending extension is a generally vertically extending extension 9 which may be made hollow to receive a tubular member 10 and which may be secured in position by a screw 11. The tubular member has a forked or bifurcated lower end 12, the forks being spaced and apertured to receive a pivot pin 14 to provide pivotable mounting means for a cable supporting arm 15 which may be straight as shown or curved upwardly in an are if so desired, and which has its outer end apertured to receive a ring 16 through which may be passed the flexible cable.

A slider 17 is slidably positioned on the cable supporting arm 15 and is provided with a threaded opening to receive a locking screw 18 which may have a knurled or slotted head 19. About the screw 18 is a spring connector 20 having an aperture at one end to receive the shank of the screw 18 and apertured at its other end to receive an end of a tension spring 21, the other end of the tension spring 21 being attached to a second spring connector 22 having one end formed into an eyelet 23 and having its other end 24 shaped to engage in the open end of the hollow tubular member 10.

Alternatively, if desired, in lieu of the second spring connector 22, the interior of the tubular member 10 may be threaded as indicated at 25 to receive a screw 26 having a reduced portion 27 adjacent its head 28 to receive a second spring connector 29.

In using the surgical flexible power cable, any suitable surgical instrument is connected to the fitting 5 and moved into position over the patient. The slider 17 is moved on the cable supporting arm 15 to the position providing a comfortable support for the flexible cable 4. The locking screw 18 is then set maintaining the slider in position. If the construction used includes the screw 26, a still finer adjustment may be had.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with reference to a specific embodiment thereof, it will be understood that other embodiments may be resorted to without departing from the invention. Therefore the form of the invention set out above should be considered as illustrative and not as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A surgical instrument flexible power shaft support adapted to be attached to an electric motor comprising a bracket, a flanged extension of the bracket contoured to fit the surface of the electric motor, a generally horizontally extending portion of the bracket, a generally vertically directed hollow extension at the end of the horizontal portion of the bracket, a tubular member positioned in the vertical extension, the lower end of the tubular member forked, a pivot pin extending through the forked end of the tubular member constituting a pivot mounting for movement in a vertical plane, a flexible shaft supporting arm carried at one end by said pivot mounting, flexible shaft supporting means at the other end of the flexible shaft supporting arm, a cylindrical slider positioned on the flexible shaft supporting arm, means adjustably positioning the slider on the cable supporting arm, and a spring connected at one end to the slider and at its other end to the top of the tubular member the parts of the support having dimensions such that the tubular member is about the same distance over the pivot pin as the distance the bracket extends horizontally from the pivot pin, and the slider is adapted to move about one-half of the length of the flexible shaft supporting arm.

2. A surgical instrument flexible power shaft support according to claim 1 in which the vertical extension is provided with a set screw adjustably securing the tubular member in a fixed desired position relative to the extension.

4 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 820,781 Hammond May 15, 1906 1 4 Lang Nov. 4, 1924 Matthes Aug. 31, 1926 Hand Sept. 13, 1927 Ellinger June 10, 1930 Pieper June 19, ,1934 

